It's on hypnotic original compositions such as Excess Success or reworked pieces like La Jetee that Parker's true genius shines through, an ability to create entire new sonic worlds from the tiniest of elements. [Mar 2022, p.88]

While opener Der Lange Marsh 1 sways like a marram grass in the breeze, there's a relentlessness to the album's overall progress. [Mar 2022, p.87]

In its Thatcher-ite commitment to pop perfection, it turns the art of the album into a sausage factory of hit making. Alexander's Years & Years sounds like a ragbag of contemporary influences rather than possessing a distinct sound of its own. [Mar 2022, p.85]

An accomplished study in post-punk boom, synth whoosh and creepy-crawl vocals. [Mar 2022, p.90]

It feels like Palace's first significant work. [Feb 2021, p.85]

The nine tracks sound pleasingly out of step with contemporary norms. [Feb 2022, p.91]

Though the album's polished backdrops are a far cry from the raw Delta blues records that inspired Keb' Mo' at the dawn of his career, there's no doubting the authenticity of the deep feeling he [ours into his vocal performances. [Feb 2022, p.89]

Easily Band Of horses' best LP in over a decade. [Feb 2022, p.86]

She further unleashes her psyche in a voice of throaty, Diamanda Galas-style intesity. [Jan 2022, p.88]

An exhilarating record by a band not only thriving under pressure but already finding new ways to adapt to its force. [Feb 2022, p.80]

Soundtrack to Mona Fastvold's story of love amid tough rural landscapes has similar mood contrasts. [Feb 2022, p.92]

It's not all folkie freak-out - on Djinn Pulse or Cupa Cupa they decelerate to conjure hypnotic beauty. [Nov 2021, p.87]

Their shortest statement yet, offering seven songs in 34 minutes, with a stripped-down, countrified focus. [Feb 2022, p.91]

A little more sonic danger may have roughed-up the pristine veneer that dampens the fun. [Dec 2021, p.89]

The most energised performance Costello has committed to record in a long time and - despite his protestations that The Imposters are an entirely different band - his most classic Attractions-like album since 1994's Brutal Youth. [Feb 2022, p.83]

Bruland has build her formative P.J. Harvey influences with a blurrier, chillier mix of guitars and electronics, landing somewhere bewitching between Broadcast, My Bloody Valentine and Lush. [Jan 2022, p.87]

Blind Date Party is intriguing enough to be more than a one-night thing. [Jan 2022, p.82]

A richly downcast experience, his deft arrangements recalling the powerful, orchestrated cloudbursts of Curtis Mayfield's solo debut. [Feb 2022, p.82]

This album again showcases Marshall's exceptional ability to burrow right into the marrow of a song. [Feb 2022, p.82]

Its class is unmistakable, surpassing even the low-slung gait of 1995's previous career milestone Smokers delight. [Dec 2021, p.89]

A delight of many layers. [Aug 2021, p.83]

Among wild wanderings, Trees Speak frequently snap back to a crisp, jazzy bassline groove, making their whole far-out adventure hard to resist. [Feb 2022, p.87]

While Mollestad is at her most formal, this album's power and deep cultural roots bring a resonance akin to that of the work of Nordheim. [Jan 2022, p.88]

Built around minimalist synth sequences that are slow-building and tense, with agitated pin-prick rhythms and pulsing stabs evoking a vastness of space and associated emotional states. [Jan 2022, p.87]

His voice surprises. [Jan 2022, p.88]

Springtime has two approaches, one more methodical, like the intense needling Will To Power. ... The other is rooted in improv. [Jan 2022, p.84]

A series of musical shocks driven by Marcal's powerful vocals. [Feb 2022, p.89]

Musca is far more than filler. Opening with the crunching sweep of two Doors, Herbert sets sail on a (wonky-ish) 4/4 course. Hypnotised is moody, throbbing house with a UK garage skip. [Nov 2021, p.91]